Miss Cheerleader

Every rink needs a Miss Cheerleader. This is the person who smiles when they see you and offers encouraging words--even when you don't ask for them.

A few weeks ago a Silver ice dance/freestyle/moves skater I know saw me after freestyle and said, "Geeze, you're doing great! You and Dance Coach were really zipping along in waltz hold and your posture was great and you had super edges!" Let's call her Miss Cheerleader.

"Was my butt sticking out?" I ask. If I'm in 'ice dance posture' I feel a crick in my lower back. I honestly can't tell if that's because my shoulders are in the right place or because my butt is in the wrong place.

"No, no! Absolutely not!" Miss Cheerleader gives me a smile that lights up the lobby.

Give me a an Edge! Give me a Stroke!
Keep on skating! Go for Broke!

This is one of the times 'pass it on' really comes to the fore. Even if you're low freestyle, below you is someone in LTS who looks up to you.

There's the adult who struggles on public, who would be overjoyed if you said, "Hey, you're really making progress!"

It only takes a moment to make the rink a place of encouragement and joy.

You can be a Miss Cheerleader too!

Merry Xmas to Your Skater 2012

Yes, it's early.  I just thought that some things might need to be ordered, so I'm giving you plenty of time to order.

Rink Tote--If your skater is on freestyle a great deal, then you might consider getting him or her a bag to carry CDs, tissues, water or a few odds and ends. If your skater is a young girl then you could consider a Kiss and Cry Bag. These run $40, but you can go to JoAnns or Walmart, or Target and find a bag of similar size but without the fancy materials. These are considerably cheaper. Just look for a 'craft tote'. I've seen one adult woman with one and a couple of young girls as well.

For adults (male or female), may I suggest a travel organizer, AKA a hang up toiletry bag? I've seen coaches with these, they just hang them on the glass by the hook. Brilliant! You can find these in several designs and sizes at lots of online retailers.

Travel Organizer

What to get young boys? Hmm, I've seen one with a black craft tote, but you're on your own with boys. What about a small canvas tool bag? 

ROCKERZ--I've seen these 'in the wild' at several rinks. Custom made blade guards that you can select in many color combinations. Suitable for both adults or kid skaters, men or women.You have to know the blade and size of the blade.

FREESTYLE OR PUBLIC SKATE CARDS--every one loves a gift of ice time. This is the gift that knows no gender or age.

JACKET OR VEST--Another gift that knows no gender or age, but you do need to know size and color preferences. I like a jacket or a vest with zippered pockets. Although freestyle sessions tend not to have theft problems, it's useful for an adult skater to have someplace secure to keep a credit card, cash or car key especially when skating on publics.  Thin vests with zippered pockets (not the down padded ones) are more flexible as the skater can wear the vest over or under a jacket.  If the skater gets hot enough to take off the jacket, the vest can still be worn.

Pocket Plus--But suppose you don't have clothing size information? What can you give a skater who needs a pocket while they skate? It's the Pocket Plus. As they say, "No Pocket, No Problem." A video on how it works is here. I regularly use a small one when I'm skating in a jacket without zippered pockets. Inexpensive enough as a stocking stuffer, but worth its weight in gold if you skate a lot of public sessions.

Do you have a skater who likes skating history? This book is really an adult level gift, and it's wonderful.

Figure skating: A History Buy it at the World Figure Skating Museum online store for  $8.50 vice on Amazon for $35+

So that's this year's skating present list for all of you.

(Good luck to everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy. Not much happening around my area except some light rain and cold. We were completely bypassed--this year.)

"Ice Doesn't Care" Blogiversary

It's been a whole year since I started this blog and I almost made my goal of a post every day!  So thanks to you all my devoted readers and commenters for going along with me on this amazing ride.

And as is traditional with blogs, here's a retrospective!

Single most Popular Post: Skate Bags!

Second Most?  Wrist Guards! I get readers world wide on the wrist guard post every day.

Funniest Post? This was hard to judge. I looked down at the 'Reactions' at the bottom of the blog post  (those little circles you click to tell me what you thought--Funny, Useful, Cool) The funniest post appears to be Photos from My Ice Dance Lessons!

My favorite post? Skating For Exercise!

Anyway, if you weren't here from the beginning,  have fun looking back at some of my old posts, see if there's any you like and give me your reactions.

All of you on the East Coast of the U.S. stay safe!